HMS ''Epervier'' was an 18-gun of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, built by Ross at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, and launched on 2 December 1812. captured her in 1814 and took her into service. USS ''Epervier'' disappeared in 1815 while carrying dispatches reporting the signing of a treaty with the

Dey of Algiers Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 on ...

War of 1812

''Epervier'' was commissioned in January 1813 under Commander Richard Walter Wales. On 20 August 1813, ''Epervier'' captured the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

''Lively'', which was sailing from St. Thomas to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

.''London Gazette'', Issue 16837, 1 January 1814, p.20-1 Then one month later, on 20 September, she captured ''Active''. Under her master, E. Altberg, ''Active'', of 390 tons (bm), was sailing from Gottenburg to Boston with a cargo of iron. Three days later, ''Epervier'', and captured ''Resolution''. On 5 October ''Epervier'' and captured the American privateer, ''Portsmouth Packet''. She had previously been ''

Liverpool Packet ''Liverpool Packet'' was a privateer schooner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, that captured 50 American vessels in the War of 1812. American privateers captured ''Liverpool Packet'' in 1813, but she failed to take any prizes during the four months bef ...

'', a noted Nova Scotian privateer, and returned to successful privateering under the ''Liverpool Packet'' name after the British recaptured her. At the time of her capture, ''Portsmouth Packet'' was armed with five guns, carried a crew of 45, and had sailed from Portsmouth the previous day. Almost a month later, on 3 November, ''Epervier '' and ''Fantome'' captured ''Peggy'' of 91 tons (bm), W. O. Fuller, master, which was sailing from George's River to Boston with a cargo of timber and wood. On 23 February 1814 ''Epervier'' was cruising off Cape Sable, when she captured the American privateer-brig ''Alfred'', of Salem. ''Alfred'', which mounted 16 long 9-pounders and had a crew, variously described, as being of 94 or 108 men, surrendered without a fight. (The British 38-gun frigate , under the command of Captain Clotworthy Upton, was in sight about to leeward.) While returning to Halifax with ''Alfred'', Wales found out that some of his crew were plotting with the prisoners from ''Alfred'' to take over one or both vessels and escape to the United States. Wales continued on to Halifax, where he arrived two days later, having sailed through a gale to do so. There he notified his uncle, Admiral Sir

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottingham ...

, the commanding officer of the station, that he didn't trust his crew. Warren dismissed Wales' concerns and she sailed on 3 March with the same crew.James (1837), Vol 6, p.291-4. She and the schooner sailed with a small convoy bound to Bermuda and the West Indies. Before she left Halifax, Wales exchanged her two 6-pounder bow chasers and the carronade for her launch for two 18-pounder carronades.

Capture

On 14 April ''Epervier'' sailed from

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping an ...

, Jamaica, calling at Havana, where she took on board $118,000 in specie. She left Havana on 25 April bound for Halifax. The 22-gun

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enco ...

captured ''Epervier'' off Cape Canaveral,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, on 29 April, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

. ''Epervier''s crew consisted mainly of invalids from the hospital, giving her the worst crew of any ship on her station. In the engagement ''Epervier'' suffered eight killed and 15 wounded, as well as extensive damage.

US service

Despite the extensive damage inflicted in this engagement, John B. Nicolson, ''Peacock''s

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

, was able to sail her to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

. Following repairs, the US Navy took her into service as USS ''Epervier''. ''Epervier'', under Master Commandant John Downes, sailed to join the Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unit ...

, Jr., whose mission was to stop the harassment of American shipping by the

. ''Epervier'' joined with , , and in the

Battle off Cape Gata The Battle off Cape Gata, which took place June 17, 1815, off the south-east coast of Spain, was the first battle of the Second Barbary War. A squadron of vessels, under the command of Stephen Decatur, Jr., met and engaged the flagship of the Al ...

on 17 June 1815, which led to the capture of the 44 (or 46)-gun frigate ''Meshuda'' (or ''Mashuda''). ''Epervier'' fired nine broadsides into ''Meshuda'' to induce her to surrender, after ''Guerriere'' had already crippled the Algerian vessel. Two days later ''Epervier'' and three of the smaller vessels of the squadron captured the Algerine brig of war ''Estedio'', of twenty-two guns and 180 men, at the

Battle off Cape Palos The Battle of Cape Palos was the last battle of the Second Barbary War. The battle began when an American squadron under Stephen Decatur attacked and captured an Algerine brig. Background After capturing the Algerine flagship ''Meshuda'' and s ...

. After the conclusion of peace with Algiers, Decatur transferred Downes to ''Guerriere''.

Loss

After the Dey signed a treaty, Decatur chose ''Epervier'', under Lieutenant John T. Shubrick, ''Guerriere''s former

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

, to carry a copy of the treaty and some captured flags to the United States. Captain Lewis, and Lieutenants Neale and John Yarnall, came on board as passengers. ''Epervier'' sailed through the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

on 14 July 1815 and was never heard from again.DANF - ''Epervier''
/ref> She may have encountered a hurricane reported in the Atlantic on 9 August 1815. In all, she was carrying 132 sailors and 2 marines.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Epervier (1803) 1810s missing person cases 1812 ships Barbary Wars American ships Cruizer-class brig-sloops Maritime incidents in 1815 Missing ships People lost at sea Ships built on the River Medway Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Sloops of the United States Navy War of 1812 ships of the United States War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Warships lost with all hands